Haropa Port and Verso Energy have inked a deal to establish a cutting-edge low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels plant on Haropa Port land in Grand-Quevilly. The €500 million project, slated for completion by 2029, aims to produce 50,000+ tonnes of hydrogen annually through water electrolysis, supporting the region’s industrial ecosystem. The initiative aligns with national strategies for sustainable fuel development and contributes to decarbonizing local industries and maritime and aviation sectors. The project is expected to generate 150 direct and 250 indirect jobs, emphasizing its role in both economic growth and environmental responsibility.
Key figures, including Dominique Ritz of Haropa Port and Antoine Huard of Verso Energy, signed the agreement, marking a significant step in the region’s energy transition. The strategic location along the Seine Axis positions the plant as a crucial resource for decarbonizing mobility and industry, addressing growing demand for sustainable fuels in various sectors. Stakeholders, including local authorities and regional leaders, expressed enthusiasm for the project’s potential to drive economic development, reindustrialization, and a more sustainable future in the Normandy region.
“Rouen Normandy urban district authority welcomes the arrival of Verso Energy, which will boost the drive to regenerate Rouen’s port areas, creating a new activity that will be a source of direct and indirect jobs. The urban district authority wishes to thank Haropa Port’s teams for their commitment to this new facility. The Seine Valley has a major role to play in decarbonising mobility and developing technologies that provide solutions. This major investment is a contribution to that”, underscored Nicolas Mayer Rossignol, chair of the Rouen Normandy urban district authority, Abdelkrim Marchani, vice-chair with responsibility for the economy, attractiveness, higher education and research, student affairs, digital technology, Europe and international affairs, and Nicolas Rouly, vice-chair of the city authority and mayor of Grand-Quevilly.
“In France, Normandy Regional Authority has shown itself to be a pioneer in the development of new uses for hydrogen. As an industrial region in the first rank, comprising sectors of great importance such as logistics and ports, as well as an energy mix among the most diversified in France, Normandy enjoys exceptional advantages for the development of what is an energy source of the future. It is for that reason that very early on the Regional Authority identified hydrogen as an essential resource not only for its energy transition but also as a vector for decarbonised growth. I am delighted to see the creation of this new industrial plant for the production of low-carbon hydrogen and synthetic fuels on Haropa Port land in Grand-Quevilly. This project is absolutely a contribution to achieving the Regional Authority’s ambitions for the industrial development of Normandy and comes as one more in a long series of industrial investments on the Seine Axis, the favoured location of the leading national port complex, which possesses extraordinary potential for becoming a region at the crossroads of global economic flows, making it a participant in the reindustrialisation of our economy and at the same time a promoter of a more virtuous development model”, stated Hervé Morin, chair of Normandy Regional Authority.
